Chapter 232

Chapter 232

The Wolf King Lunared was mercilessly defeated.

He hadnt even grazed the Demon Kings feet, let alone his neck.

Facing the intangible darkness exuded by the Demon King, the werewolf Lunared fought valiantly but ultimately fell to his knees.

"In my lifetime, and even after my resurrection here... Ive faced all sorts of powerful beings."

Torn apart and drenched in blood, Lunared mumbled through his broken fangs as he lay crushed on the ground.

"Youre really on a different level of strength. Damn it..."

"Youre the type who doesnt understand unless you experience it physically, Lunared," the Demon King chuckled, looking down at the werewolf without a scratch on himself.

His face shrouded in dark shadows, only the corners of his blank, white mouth curled up into a smile.

"Youre the only one bold enough to challenge me. I dont hate you for it."

"..."

"Forgive me, my nightmare."

The Demon King extended his hand, and the horribly defeated Lunared was fully restored.

Bones mended, torn muscles reconnected; it was as if the aftermath of their intense battle was all a lieLunared was entirely healed.

Just as Lunared was struggling to get up, the Demon King flicked his finger and chuckled.

"But you still need to receive the punishment that was initially planned, right?"

Snap!

Immediately after,

Thud-!

A violent vomit of blood erupted from Lunareds nose and mouth.

The gigantic werewolf who had just half-risen collapsed back onto the ground.

Kneeling on the ground, Lunared clutched his left chest while groaning.

"What the hell did you..."

"Werewolves have two hearts. One for the wolf, one for the human," the Demon King dusted off his hand lightly.

"Ive destroyed one of them. Not sure which one, though."

"...!"

"Feel free to challenge me anytime, Lunared. But breaking my rules is unforgivable."

The Demon King suddenly erased the smile from his face and lowered his voice.

"Im playing this game by the rules. Dont mess with my enjoyment, wolf."

With blood still in his mouth, Lunared squinted his eyes glaring at the Demon King.

"A disturbance? I merely worked for the victory of our legion!"

"..."

"I dont have the luxury of sitting back and playing chess like you!"

Thats why, against the kings prohibition, he had hastily sent his subordinates along with Jormungandr.

Although it was a failure, Lunared did not believe his actions were so wrong that they deserved punishment.

With a boiling voice, Lunared roared.

"Why! Why are you sparing them, my king! If all the nightmares you resurrected marched at once, the human race would be eradicated instantly!"

"Haha."

The Demon King then snorted.

"Lunared, my loyal hound. You ask why?"

The Demon King lowered his shadowy form and sat in front of the fallen werewolf.

"...Simply because its fun."

He whispered like a serpent.

"Ive destroyed this world hundreds, thousands of times. But what I truly desire, I havent acquired yet."

Lunareds eyes widened, unable to comprehend the words.

To think that this world has been destroyed hundreds, even thousands of times?

What does that even mean? Then what is this world right now?

"No matter how enjoyable something is, repeating it endlessly will make it dull. Thats why I introduced rules and started a game with my arch-nemesis."

The hand of the Demon King rested on Lunareds head, gently stroking his blood-soaked silver mane.

As if handling a dog. It was a humiliating touch.

"To inject a bit of fun into this tedious and dull world-killing."

The Demon King smirked at Lunareds confused expression.

"I never expected pieces like you to understand from the beginning. All you need to do is move as I command."

"..."

"Now prepare for the campaign, Lunared. I will entrust this Grand Scheme to you."

At the words of the Demon King, Lunared clenched his left chest and stood up.

Although blood continued to flow from his nose and mouth due to a shattered heart, he strained himself not to show pain.

"Wasnt this the invasion youve been yearning for? Go ahead and obliterate humanity."

"..."

Catching his breath, Lunared spoke.

"If I succeed, my Lord, grant me one wish."

These guys wont do. Theyre too accustomed to human methods.

But Kellibey was unforgiving.

Its not that the human way is bad, but dwarves and humans have fundamentally different ways of handling metals. We might learn applications from each other, but as an assistant, their ingrained habits will clash with mine.

So, what youre saying is... find an assistant whos smart but has zero knowledge in blacksmithing?

Exactly! A robust and sincere guy who can follow my directions without any fuss.

I nodded in understanding and stepped out of the blacksmiths shop, giving Lucas, who was waiting, a nod.

"Lets head to the Mercenary Guild."

It was a good opportunity; I was already planning on recruiting some new mercenaries. Lets find someone who fits the criteria that Kellibey mentioned.

Just before leaving the blacksmiths shop, I discreetly whispered to the flushed-faced guild master of the Blacksmiths Guild.

"If you have him around for a few weeks to a few months, squeeze out all the know-how you can. Hes too kind to refuse, so ask him anything youre curious about."

"Of course, my lord!"

"Hell like it if you serve him a bit of alcohol while showing proper respect. Just handle it well."

I patted the guild masters shoulder and exited the blacksmiths shop.

The last I saw inside, all the human blacksmiths were flocking toward Kellibey, who was lying down, offering him massages.

Old mans a real hit...

***

Mercenary Guild.

Quite a number of new recruits had filled in since Id last visited.

I looked over their profiles, conducting interviews on the spot and immediately hiring them.

My policy is basically to hire everyone; unless they have a serious flaw, I take them under my wing.

No SSRs or SRs in sight, huh.

Most of them are common soldiers, and the hero characters are almost all R-grade or N-grade.

However, who could tell which one of them might carry the game in the future?

As I was wrapping up the new recruitments, transferring around a hundred or so newbies to be affiliated with Crossroad...

"...?"

Two mercenaries caught my eye.

One was the highest-grade hero Id met today, an SR-grade.

The man, in his 40s or 50s, had deep brown hair hanging in loose curls and emanated a purple hue, indicative of his SR status. His eyes carried a heavy, somewhat sad expression.

"Youre from the north?"

I asked as I skimmed through his profile, to which the SR-grade warrior named Camus nodded solemnly.

"Yes."

"You used to be a soldier."

"Im a remnant of a kingdom long fallen... Arent most mercenaries similar in that regard?"

Well, thats true. Half of them are knights or remnants of fallen kingdoms.

Anyway, I had seen this guy, Camus, a few times in the game before.

A decent SR-grade warrior character; used well, he could serve as an excellent vanguard.

There was no reason to decline an SR-grade. I immediately hired Camus.

"Looking forward to working with you."

"The pleasure is mine, Your Majesty."

Camus showed a gloomy smile. Itd be nice if he lightened up a bit.

The second mercenary that caught my eye emanated a gray color, indicating an N-grade.

A young boy.

With bright brown hair covering his eyes and a diminutive stature, he looked to be about fifteen. His name was Hannibal.

Through the hair obscuring his eyes, I glimpsed two that were perfectly steady.

He was the first among all the mercenaries I met today whose gaze didnt waver.

"I heard about the southern front and came to see for myself."

"Heard what?"

"That you pay well and treat mercenaries as soldiers."

Hannibal spoke in a youthful voice, still unbroken by puberty.

"Please use me. You wont regret it."

"Im sorry, but youre too young to be sent to the front lines."

In the Southern Front, soldiers had to be at least sixteen years old. Considering I find even sixteen to be incredibly young, there was no way I could send this fifteen-year-old kid into battle.

"Then let me do odd jobs or something. Ill do whatever you ask. And once my next birthday comes around, Ill stand on the front lines."

Hannibal responded as if he had prepared for this. Hmm, it looked like he came with a purpose.

For some reason, I took a liking to him.

It also reminded me of Dion, who had died some time ago.

"...Alright, Hannibal."

So, I decided to hire the kid.

"Would you like to try being an assistant to the Elder Dwarf?"